Configuring an identifier for an access point

ABSTRACT

An access point is configured based on acquired information. An access point may be configured based on the configuration(s) of at least one other access point. An identifier to be transmitted by an access point may be selected based on the identifier(s) transmitted by at least one other access point. An access point may configure itself with assistance from a configuration server. For example, the access point may send information such as the location of the access point to a configuration server and the configuration server may respond with a list of neighboring access points for that access point. A configuration server may provide configuration information to an access point based on the location of the access point. A configuration server also may direct an access point to a different configuration server.

PRIORITY APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/272,672, entitled “CONFIGURING AN IDENTIFIER FORAN ACCESS POINT” and filed on Nov. 17, 2008 which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/989,054, filed Nov. 19, 2007,and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/989,057, filed Nov. 19,2007, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/025,683, filed Feb.1, 2008. The disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is related to commonly owned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/272,665, entitled “ACCESS POINT CONFIGURATION SCHEMES,” andassigned Attorney Docket No. 072360, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates generally to communication and morespecifically, but not exclusively, to configuring a communication node.

2. Introduction

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication (e.g., voice, data, multimedia services, etc.) tomultiple users. As the demand for high-rate and multimedia data servicesrapidly grows, there lies a challenge to implement efficient and robustcommunication systems with enhanced performance.

To supplement conventional mobile phone network base stations (e.g.,macro cells), small-coverage base stations may be deployed (e.g.,installed in a user's home) to provide more robust indoor wirelesscoverage to mobile units. Such small-coverage base stations aregenerally known as access point base stations, Home NodeBs, or femtocells. Typically, such small-coverage base stations are connected to theInternet and the mobile operator's network via a DSL router or a cablemodem.

In practice, these small-coverage base stations may be deployed in anad-hoc manner and in relatively large numbers. Consequently, there is aneed for improved techniques for configuring such base stations.

SUMMARY

A summary of sample aspects of the disclosure follows. It should beunderstood that any reference to the term aspects herein may refer toone or more aspects of the disclosure.

The disclosure relates in some aspect to configuring an access point. Invarious scenarios such an access point may take the form of a femtonode, a relay node, a pico node, or some other type of node.

The disclosure relates in some aspect to configuring an access pointbased on the configuration(s) of at least one other access point. Forexample, an access point may acquire configuration informationindicative of the configuration(s) of at least one neighboring accesspoint and select one or more configuration parameters based on theacquired configuration information.

The disclosure relates in some aspect to determining an identifier to beused by (i.e., transmitted by) an access point. For example, an accesspoint may select an identifier based on the identifier(s) used by (i.e.,transmitted by) at least one other access point. These identifiers maycomprise, for example, pilot identifiers (e.g., physical cellidentifiers). For convenience, the description herein will refer to suchan identifier as a pilot identifier.

The disclosure relates in some aspect to autonomous configuration of anaccess point. For example, once an access point is initialized (e.g.,upon deployment, power-up, or reset), the access point may determine itslocation and then configure itself (e.g., by determining a configurationbased on its location). Here, the access point may determineradio-frequency (“RF”) parameters, optimization parameters, or otherparameters. For example, the access point may determine a pilotidentifier, a carrier frequency, a power profile, some other parameter,or a combination of two or more of these parameters.

The disclosure relates in some aspect to an access point that configuresitself with assistance from a configuration server. For example, theaccess point may send information such as the location of the accesspoint to a configuration server and the configuration server may respondwith a list of any neighboring access points for that access point. Theaccess point may then acquire configuration information indicative ofthe configuration(s) of the identified neighboring access point(s) andselect one or more configuration parameters based on the acquiredconfiguration information.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to providing configurationinformation to an access point. For example, a configuration server mayprovide configuration information to an access point based on thelocation of the access point.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to directing an access point to aconfiguration server. For example, a configuration server may direct anaccess point to another configuration server for configurationinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other sample aspects of the disclosure will be described inthe detailed description and the appended claims that follow, and in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of acommunication system where an access point is configured based onreceived information;

FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram illustrating sample coverage areas forwireless communication;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to configure an access point;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcomponents that may be employed in communication nodes;

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram illustrating sample operations relatingto neighbor discovery;

FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram illustrating sample operations relatingto neighbor discovery;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to configure an access point based on the configuration ofone or more neighboring nodes;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcomponents that may be employed in communication nodes;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to configure an access point based on location;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to configure an access point based on receivedconfiguration information;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to direct an access point to a configuration server;

FIG. 12 is a simplified diagram of a wireless communication system;

FIG. 13 is a simplified diagram of a wireless communication systemincluding femto nodes;

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcommunication components; and

FIGS. 15-22 are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects ofapparatuses configured to perform configuration-related operations astaught herein.

In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus,the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus(e.g., device) or method. Finally, like reference numerals may be usedto denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should beapparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety offorms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosedherein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein oneskilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. Furthermore,an aspect may comprise at least one element of a claim.

FIG. 1 illustrates several nodes in a sample communication system 100(e.g., a portion of a communication network). For illustration purposes,various aspects of the disclosure will be described in the context ofone or more access terminals, access points, and network nodes thatcommunicate with one another. It should be appreciated, however, thatthe teachings herein may be applicable to other types of apparatuses orother similar apparatuses that are referenced using other terminology.For example, an access point as taught herein may be implemented orreferred to as a base station, an eNodeB, a Home eNodeB, and so on.Also, an access terminal as taught herein may be implemented or referredto as a mobile, user equipment, and so on. In addition, a network nodemay be implemented or referred to as a configuration server; anoperations, accounting, and management (“OAM”) entity; a mobilitymanager; and so on. Other sample terminology is set forth in thefollowing discussion.

Access points in the system 100 provide one or more services (e.g.,network connectivity) for one or more wireless terminals (e.g., accessterminal 102) that may be installed within or that may roam throughoutan associated geographical area. For example, at various points in timethe access terminal 102 may connect to an access point 104 or an accesspoint 106. Each of the access points 104 and 106 may communicate withone or more network nodes (represented, for convenience, by network node108) to facilitate wide area network connectivity. Such network nodesmay take various forms such as, for example, one or more radio and/orcore network entities (e.g., implemented as discussed above or as someother suitable network entity).

In some aspects, configuration of an access point such as access point104 may be advantageously achieved by providing configurationfunctionality at the access point. For example, in a network that has arelatively large number of access points, it may be more efficient forthe overall operation of the network if each access point has thecapability to configure itself at least to some extent. In this way, theoperator of the network (e.g., centralized entities managed by theoperator) may be relieved of at least some of the burden of determiningthe appropriate configurations and keeping track of the configurationsfor all of these access points.

In the example of FIG. 1, the access point 104 includes a configurationcontroller 110 that configures the access point 104. Here, theconfiguration controller 110 may provide one or more configurationparameters that the access point 104 uses for communication-relatedoperations. For example, the configuration controller 110 may provideconfiguration parameters for a wireless transceiver 112 such as a pilotidentifier, operating frequency, and transmit power.

In some implementations the configuration controller 110 definesconfiguration parameters based on the configuration(s) of at least oneother access point (e.g., a neighboring access point). To this end, theconfiguration controller 110 may receive configuration information fromthe other access point(s) and/or information that may be used to obtainconfiguration information from the other access point(s).

In some cases the access point 104 may communicate with the access point106 to determine the configuration of the access point 106. For example,the access point 104 may communicate with the access point 106 via abackhaul (e.g., through the network node 108). As a more specificexample, an eNodeB may receive a report (e.g., via an X2 interface) of aPCI used by a neighboring eNodeB.

Also, the access point 104 may acquire configuration-related informationdirectly from the access point 106 via wireless signals. For example,the access point 104 may include a downlink receiver (not shown inFIG. 1) that receives signals transmitted by the access point 106. As amore specific example, the PCI used by an eNodeB may be heardover-the-air at another eNodeB through the use of a downlink receiver.

The access point 104 also may acquire configuration-related informationvia an access terminal (e.g., when the access terminal 102 is beingserved by the access point 104). For example, the access terminal 102may forward information it acquires from the access point 106 (e.g.,information derived from transmissions by the access point 106) to theaccess point 104. As a more specific example, user equipment may reportthe PCI used by an eNodeB to another eNodeB.

In some cases the access point 104 may receive configuration-relatedinformation from the network node 108. For example, the network node 108may identify any neighbors of the access point 104 and send thisneighbor information to the access point 104. The configurationcontroller 110 then uses this neighbor information to determine theconfiguration of the indicated neighbor(s).

In some cases the network node 108 sends a list of pilot identifiers tothe access point 104. The access point 104 may then select its pilotidentifier from the list. For example, the access point 104 may randomlyselect a pilot identifier from the list or select a pilot identifierbased on a defined criterion or criteria. Here, the access point 104 mayexclude any pilot identifiers used by other access points (e.g.,neighboring access point) from its selection.

As a more specific example, an OAM entity may signal a list of PCIvalues to an eNodeB. This list may be cell specific. The eNodeB may thenselect a PCI value for a cell from the list of PCIs. For example, theeNodeB may select a PCI value randomly from the list of PCIs.

In some cases the eNodeB may restrict the received list by removing aPCI that is reported by user equipment, reported by a neighboringeNodeB, heard over-the-air via a downlink, acquired in some other way,or acquired through a combination of two or more of these ways. TheeNodeB may then select a PCI value randomly from the restricted list ofPCIs or select a PCI value from the restricted list in some other way.

In some cases the access point 104 may provide information to aconfiguration server (e.g., as represented by the network node 108) toassist the configuration server in providing configuration informationfor the access point 104. For example, the access point 104 maydetermine its location and send corresponding location information tothe network node 108. The network node 108 may then determineappropriate configuration information based on the location and sendthis configuration information to the access point 104, where theconfiguration controller 110 uses the configuration information toconfigure the access point 104.

In some cases, a configuration server (e.g., as represented by thenetwork node 108) directs an access point to another configurationserver for configuration information. For example, upon receiving arequest from the access point 104 for configuration information, thenetwork node 102 may redirect the access point 104 to another node(e.g., another configuration server). Such a redirection may be basedon, for example, the location of the access point 104 and/or the load onone or more of the configuration servers.

Configuration operations such as those described above may beadvantageously employed in a network 200 as shown in FIG. 2 where someaccess points provide macro coverage and other access points providesmaller coverage. Here, macro coverage areas 204 may be provided by, forexample, macro access points of a large area cellular network such as a3G network, typically referred to as a macro cell network or a wide areanetwork (“WAN”). In addition, smaller coverage areas 206 may be providedby, for example, access points of a residence-based or building-basednetwork environment, typically referred to as a local area network(“LAN”). As an access terminal (“AT”) moves through such a network, theaccess terminal may be served in certain locations by access points thatprovide macro coverage while the access terminal may be served at otherlocations by access points that provide smaller coverage. In someaspects, the smaller coverage access points may be used to provideincremental capacity growth, in-building coverage, and differentservices, all leading to a more robust user experience.

In the description herein, a node (e.g., an access point) that providescoverage over a relatively large area may be referred to as a macro nodewhile a node that provides coverage over a relatively small area (e.g.,a residence) may be referred to as a femto node. It should beappreciated that the teachings herein may be applicable to nodesassociated with other types of coverage areas. For example, a pico nodemay provide coverage over an area that is smaller than a macro area andlarger than a femto area (e.g., coverage within a commercial building).Also, a relay node may provide wireless coverage that enables an accesspoint to communicate with other nodes in a network. In other words, arelay node may provide a wireless backhaul that facilitates connectivityto, for example, a network node or another relay node. In variousapplications, other terminology may be used to reference a macro node, afemto node, or other access point-type nodes. For example, a macro nodemay be configured or referred to as an access node, base station, accesspoint, eNodeB (“eNB”), macro cell, and so on. Also, a femto node may beconfigured or referred to as a Home NodeB, Home eNodeB, access point,base station, access point base station, eNodeB, femto cell, and so on.In some implementations, a node may be associated with (e.g., dividedinto) one or more cells or sectors. A cell or sector associated with amacro node, a femto node, or a pico node may be referred to as a macrocell, a femto cell, or a pico cell, respectively. For convenience, thedescription herein may refer generally to operations and components ofaccess points and femto nodes. It should be appreciated that theseoperations and components also may be applicable to other types of nodes(e.g., relay nodes and pico nodes).

In the example of FIG. 2, several tracking areas 202 (or routing areasor location areas) are defined, each of which includes several macrocoverage areas 204. Here, areas of coverage associated with trackingareas 202A, 202B, and 202C are delineated by the wide lines and themacro coverage areas 204 are represented by the hexagons. As mentionedabove, the tracking areas 202 also may include femto coverage areas 206.In this example, each of the femto coverage areas 206 (e.g., femtocoverage area 206C) is depicted within one or more macro coverage areas204 (e.g., macro coverage area 204B). It should be appreciated, however,that a femto coverage area 206 may not lie entirely within a macrocoverage area 204. Also, one or more pico or femto coverage areas (notshown) may be defined within a given tracking area 202 or macro coveragearea 204.

As indicated by the small cells in the macro coverage area 204A, a largenumber of access points such as femto nodes may deployed in a network.In such a case, the teachings herein may be advantageously employed toconfigure these access points. With the above overview in mind, varioustechniques that may be employed to configure access points in accordancewith the teachings herein will be described with reference to FIGS.3-11. FIGS. 3-6 relate in some aspect to operations and components thatmay be employed to determine a pilot identifier to be used by an accesspoint. FIGS. 7-9 relate in some aspect to operations and components thatmay be employed to configure an access point based on the configurationof at least one other node. FIG. 10 relates in some aspect to operationsthat may be employed to provide configuration information to an accesspoint. FIG. 11 relates in some aspect to operations that may be employedto direct an access point to a configuration server.

For illustration purposes, the operations of FIGS. 3, 5-7, and 9-11 (orany other operations discussed or taught herein) may be described asbeing performed by specific components (e.g., components of the system100, the components shown in FIG. 4, or the components shown in FIG. 8).It should be appreciated, however, that these operations may beperformed by other types of components and may be performed using adifferent number of components. It also should be appreciated that oneor more of the operations described herein may not be employed in agiven implementation.

FIGS. 4 and 8 illustrate several sample components that may beincorporated into nodes such as an access point, a network node, and anaccess terminal to perform configurations operations as taught herein.The described components also may be incorporated into other nodes in acommunication system. For example, other nodes (e.g., other accesspoints) in a system may include components similar to those describedfor the access point 402 and/or the access point 802 to provide similarfunctionality.

As shown in FIG. 4, an access point 402 and a network node 404 (e.g., aconfiguration server) may include transceivers 406 and 408,respectively, for communicating with other nodes. The transceiver 406includes a transmitter 410 for sending signals (e.g., messages) and areceiver 412 for receiving signals (e.g., includingconfiguration-related information). The transceiver 408 includes atransmitter 414 for sending signals and a receiver 416 for receivingsignals. Similarly, an access point 802 and a network node 804 (e.g., aconfiguration server) as shown in FIG. 8 may respectively include atransceiver 806 (including a transmitter 808 and a receiver 810) and atransceiver 812 (including a transmitter 814 and a receiver 816). Also,an access terminal 818 as shown in FIG. 8 may include a transceiver 820(including a transmitter 822 and a receiver 824).

The nodes of FIGS. 4 and 8 also include other components that may beused in conjunction with configuration operations as taught herein. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 8, the access point 802, the network node 804,and the access terminal 818 may include communication controllers 826,828, and 830, respectively, for managing communication with other nodes(e.g., sending and receiving messages/indications) and for providingother related functionality as taught herein. Also as shown in FIG. 8,one or more of the access point 802, the network node 804, and theaccess terminal 818 may include configuration controllers 832 (e.g.,comprising an integration reference point agent, IRPAgent), 834 (e.g.,comprising an integration reference point manager, IRPManager), and 836,respectively, for performing configuration-related operations and forproviding other related functionality as taught herein. Sampleoperations of the other components of FIGS. 4 and 8 are described below.

For convenience, the nodes of FIGS. 4 and 8 are depicted as includingcomponents that may be used in the various examples described below inconjunction with FIGS. 3-11. In practice, one or more of the illustratedcomponents may not be used in a given example. As an example, in someimplementations the access terminal 818 may not include a conflictdetector 838 and/or the configuration controller 836. As anotherexample, in some implementations the network node 804 may not includeone or more of the configuration controller 834, a neighbor determiner840, or a configuration server selector 842. As yet another example, insome implementations the access point 802 may not include a locationdeterminer 844.

Also, a given node may contain one or more of the described components.For example, a node may contain multiple transceiver components thatenable the node to concurrently operate on multiple frequencies and/orenable the node to communicate via different types of technology (e.g.,wired and/or wireless technology).

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the teachings herein may be employed toconfigure an access point with a pilot identifier based on the pilotidentifier(s) used by at least one other access point. Through the useof such a scheme, access points in a network may choose (e.g.,autonomously choose) pilot identifiers in a distributed manner. In thisway, the possibility of pilot identifier collisions in the network(e.g., when a node hears multiple access points broadcasting the samepilot identifier) may be reduced or eliminated. Moreover, this may beaccomplished without the use of a centralized manager that assigns andkeeps track of all of the pilot identifiers used by all of the accesspoints in the network.

A pilot identifier may take various forms and may be referred to usingdifferent terminology in different implementations. For example, a pilotidentifier may be referred to as a cell identifier (“cell ID”), aphysical cell identifier (“PCI”), or primary scrambling sequence(“PSC”). Also, a pilot identifier may be associated with a pseudorandomnoise sequence (“PN sequence”) that is present in a pilot signal.

As represented by block 302 of FIG. 3, in some implementations aconfiguration server (e.g., the network node 404 of FIG. 4) determines alist of pilot identifiers that may be used by a given access point(e.g., the access point 402) and sends the list to the access point. Inthe example of FIG. 4, these operations may be performed by aconfiguration controller 418.

Here, the list of pilot identifiers may comprise a subset (e.g., 10pilot identifiers) of a set of all the pilot identifiers (e.g., 512pilot identifiers) defined for a given network. In some implementationsthe list comprises a range of pilot identifiers.

The list of pilot identifiers may be operator configurable. In somecases, a given list may be applicable throughout the operator's network(e.g., multiple access points in a network may be assigned the samelist). In some cases, unique lists may be defined for different accesspoints. For example, each access point in a network may be assigned itsown list (all of these lists may not be unique, however).

In some implementations the operator may divide the pilot identifierspace into different subsets. The pilot identifier space may be dividedbased on various criteria.

In some implementations the pilot identifier space is divided intodifferent subsets for different types of access points. For example,macro access points may be assigned a first subset of pilot identifiers(e.g., pilot identifiers 0-49), femto nodes may be assigned a secondsubset of pilot identifiers (e.g., pilot identifiers 50-499), and mobileaccess points may be assigned a third subset of pilot identifiers s(e.g., pilot identifiers 500-511).

In some implementations the pilot identifier space is divided intodifferent subsets based on the transmit power of access points. Forexample, higher-power access points (e.g., macro access points) may beassigned a first subset of pilot identifiers and a lower-power accesspoints (e.g., femto nodes, pico nodes, or relay nodes) may be assigned asecond subset of pilot identifiers.

In some implementations the pilot identifier space may be divided intodifferent subsets based on location. For example, different pilotidentifier subsets may be defined for different geographic regions.Thus, the subset of pilot identifiers assigned to a given access pointmay be dependent on the location of the access point.

In view of the above, in some implementations the operations of theconfiguration server at block 302 may be based on information theconfiguration server receives from the access point 402. For example, atsome point in time (e.g., once the access point 402 establishes anInternet connection), the access point 402 uses its network connectivityto contact the network node 404 and send this information.

The access point 402 (e.g., a location determiner 420) may determineinformation indicative of the location of the access point 402 and sendthis information to the network node 404. Such information may takevarious forms. For example, information indicative of location of anaccess point may indicate at least one of: a city within which theaccess point is located, a state within which the access point islocated, a country within which the access point is located, a macroaccess point that serves the access point, a zone with which the accesspoint is associated, a cell with which the access point iscommunicating, a network identity or operator that the cell isassociated with, GPS coordinates, a geographic location, or a streetaddress.

In addition, or in the alternative, the access point 402 may sendinformation indicative of the type of the access point 402 to thenetwork node 404. As discussed above, this information may take variousforms. For example, this type information may indicate one or more of adevice class (e.g., femto, macro, mobile, etc.) of the access point 402,a power class (e.g., high power, low power, etc.) of the access point402, whether the access point is restricted (e.g., as taught herein),whether the access point is stationary or mobile, or some othercharacteristic(s) associated with the access point 402.

The network node 404 (e.g., the configuration controller 418) may thendetermine the list of pilot identifiers for use by the access point 402based on the information it receives from the access point 402. In someaspects, the network node 404 may use pilot identifier rangespre-provisioned by the operator to select a valid range of pilotidentifiers for use by the indicated node type and/or for use at theindicated location.

As mentioned above, some or all of the operations of block 302 may notbe utilized in some implementations. For example, in some cases thepilot identifier lists (e.g., ranges) are standardized. In such a case,the network node 404 may simply send a standard pilot identifier list tothe access point 402. Alternatively, the access point 402 may beconfigured with the pilot identifier list, whereby the access point 402does not receive this information from the network node 404.

As represented by block 304 of FIG. 3, the access point 402 (e.g., apilot identifier determiner 422) determines at least one pilotidentifier that is used by at least one other access point. For example,the access point 402 may determine which pilot identifiers are beingused by its neighbors.

In some implementations the access point 402 (e.g., a neighbor discoverycontroller 424) may conduct neighbor discovery to identify itsneighbors. As will be discussed in more detail below, the access point402 may discover one-hop neighbors or multi-hop neighbors (e.g.,two-hop, three-hop, etc.). In the latter case, the access point 402 mayelect to crawl two or three hops or more to obtain pilot identifierinformation from more distant neighbors.

In some implementations the access point 402 acquires configurationinformation from its neighbors via neighbor discovery. For example, as aresult of a neighbor discovery request issued by the neighbor discoverycontroller 424, the access point 402 may receive a neighbor discoveryresponse from a neighbor access point (e.g., a one-hop or multi-hopneighbor) that includes the pilot identifier used by that neighboraccess point. Such a neighbor discovery operation may be performed, forexample, via a backhaul.

In some implementations the access point 402 may acquire the pilotidentifier information of its neighbors from a server (e.g., networknode 404). For example, the network node 404 (e.g., a neighbordeterminer 426) may maintain this information on its own or obtain thisinformation upon request. The network node 404 may then send the pilotidentifier information to the access point 402 in response to a requestfrom the access point 402. In some aspects, the network node 404 mayidentify the pilot identifier information to be provided based on thelocation of the access point 402. For example, in its request, theaccess point 402 may include information that is indicative of itslocation. The network node 404 may then identify the access points inthat vicinity and determine which pilot identifiers they use. Inaddition, the network node 404 may take into account the transmit powerof these access points when determining whether pilot signalstransmitted by these access points may be received by a node that alsoreceives pilot signals from the access point 402. In this way, onlythose pilot identifiers that may potentially cause a pilot identifiercollision may be sent to the access point 402.

In some implementations the access point 402 may initially acquire alist of its neighbors and then conduct neighbor discovery on the accesspoints identified by the list. For example, the network node 404 (e.g.,the neighbor determiner 426) may send such a list to the access point402 based on the location of the access point 402 (e.g., which may beprovided to the network node 404 by the access point 402). Also, anaccess terminal that is associated with (e.g., served by) the accesspoint 402 may send a report to the access point 402 that indicates whichaccess points the access terminal currently hears (i.e., receivessignals from) or has previously heard.

In some implementations the access point 402 may determine the pilotidentifiers used by its neighbors without conducting formal neighbordiscovery. For example, the access point 402 may include a downlinkreceiver (e.g., as represented by receiver 412) that is configured todetect pilot signals from neighboring access points. That is, the accesspoint 402 may receive configuration information over-the-air. In thiscase, the access point 402 may determine the pilot identifiers used bythese neighboring access points based on detected signals (e.g., basedon the PN sequence derived from received pilot signals) and, optionally,determine the identify of the neighbors (e.g., by analyzing informationin other downlink messages).

In some implementations the access point 402 may receive pilotidentifier or other neighbor information from an access terminal (e.g.,access terminal 102 of FIG. 1). For example, an access terminal that isassociated with the access point 402 may send a report to the accesspoint 402 indicative of the pilot signals that the access terminal isreceiving. Here, the access terminal may derive information (e.g., apilot identifier, a PN sequence, or other access point identityinformation) from the signals it receives and forward this informationto the access point 402.

As represented by block 306 of FIG. 3, the access point 402 (e.g., apilot identifier selector 428) selects a pilot identifier to be used bythe access point 402 based on the pilot identifiers determined by block304 and a designated pilot identifier list, if applicable. For example,the access point 402 may select a pilot identifier from the designatedlist that does not conflict with (e.g., is not the same as) any pilotidentifier used by the neighboring access points.

The access point 402 may attempt to avoid conflict with the pilotidentifiers of its immediate neighbors (e.g., one-hop neighbors) and,optionally, multi-hop neighbors. Multi-hop neighbor discovery isdiscussed in more detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6.

The access point 402 may organize the pilot identifiers of its neighborsin several groups and use these groups in the pilot identifier selectionprocess. Such groups may be organized in various ways. For example, afirst group may include pilot identifiers heard by the access point 402and/or the pilot identifiers reported by access terminals associatedwith the access point 402. A second group may include the second-hopneighbors identified during neighbor discovery, but only those that wereidentified via neighbor lists provided by neighboring femto nodes (e.g.a low-power access points). A third group may include the second-hopneighbors identified during neighbor discovery, but only those that wereidentified via neighbor lists provided by neighboring macro accesspoints (e.g. a high-power access points). Here, the differentiationbetween groups two and three may be employed because a neighboring macroaccess point may report a large number of femto node neighbors, most ofwhich may be located relatively far away from the access point 402 andare, therefore, less likely to cause a conflict with the pilotidentifier used by the access point 402.

Continuing with the above example, in the event one of the pilotidentifiers in a designated list is not being used by any of theneighbors of the access point 402 (e.g., any of the identifiers ofgroups one, two, and three), the access point 402 may simply select thispilot identifier. Conversely, if all of the pilot identifiers in thedesignated set are being used by at least one of the neighbors, theaccess point 402 may determine whether any of the pilot identifiers ofthe designated set in only in conflict with an access point from groupthree (i.e., there is no conflict with group one or group two). If so,the access point 402 may select one of these pilot identifiers in anattempt to minimize the risk of a conflict. In the event all of thepilot identifiers of the designated list conflict with either group oneor group two, the access point 402 may select a pilot identifier thatonly conflicts with group two (in the event such a pilot identifierexist). In some implementations, the access point 402 is not allowed toselect a pilot identifier from group one. In the event there aremultiple pilot identifiers to choose from, the access point 402 mayselect one of the pilot identifiers randomly or in some other designatedmanner.

As represented by block 308, the access point 402 is then configured touse the selected pilot identifier for wireless communication. Forexample, the transmitter 410 may use the selected pilot identifier togenerate the pilot signals that it broadcasts.

As represented by block 310, the access point 402 may continue tomonitor the pilot identifiers used by its neighbors (e.g., using theoperations of block 304) so that the access point may continue to ensurethat the pilot identifier it is using is not in conflict with the pilotidentifier used by a neighbor. For example, such a conflict may becaused by a new access point that has been recently installed in thevicinity of the access point 402 or by a mobile access point that hasentered the vicinity of the access point 402. Also, a pilot identifierconflict (e.g., collision) may occur if two access points that are notwithin hearing range of each other choose the same a pilot identifier.Such a conflict may eventually be detected, for example, by an accessterminal that receives signals from both of the access points. In such acase, one or both of the access points may be configured to change theirpilot identifier. As described below in conjunction with FIG. 7, anaccess terminal that detects a conflict may inform one or all of theconcerned access points. For example, the access terminal may connect toone of these access points to pass on this information, or may send thisinformation to the concerned access points using a connection the accessterminal has to another access point.

In the event a conflict is identified, the access point 402 may performoperations similar to those described above to select a new pilotidentifier that does not conflict with any pilot identifier used by anyneighboring access point. Thus, through the use of these techniques, theaccess point 402 may independently recover from pilot identifierconflicts (e.g., pilot identifier collisions). For example, uponreceiving a conflict notification or identifying a conflict, the accesspoint 402 may move its current pilot identifier into a group ofidentifiers that are designated as forbidden (e.g., group one discussedabove) and repeat the operations described above.

In some cases, when changing its pilot identifier, the access point 402may drop all connections that it currently holds and force theassociated access terminals to reconnect. As an optimization, the accesspoint 402 may send a message ahead of time to inform the accessterminals of the new pilot identifier and the time at which the accesspoint 402 will switch to using a new pilot identifier. In this way, theswitch to the new pilot identifier may be achieved with minimaldisruption of service.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, an access point may discover itsneighbors through the use of access point-initiated neighbor discoveryand/or access terminal-assisted neighbor discovery. FIG. 5 represents anexample of access point-initiated neighbor discovery. FIG. 6 representsan example of access terminal-assisted neighbor discovery.

In FIG. 5, an access point A may initiate neighbor discovery uponlearning about the existence of a neighboring access point B. Forexample, as discussed above the access point A may listen to thebroadcast information of its RF neighbors (e.g., through the use of adownlink receiver) or obtain information about its neighbors in someother manner. As represented by block 502 in FIG. 5, the access point Amay thus learn an identifier (e.g., the address) of one of itsneighbors.

The access point A (e.g., by operation of a neighbor discoverycontroller component) may connect to that neighbor directly over thebackhaul and perform an exchange of neighbor discovery messages. Forexample, the access point A sends a neighbor discovery request (“NDRequest”) to the access point B. In response, the access point B (e.g.,by operation of a neighbor discovery controller component) sends aneighbor discovery report (“ND Report”) to the access point A.Similarly, the access point B sends a neighbor discovery request to theaccess point A and receives a neighbor discovery report in response.

Advantageously, the report from the access point B may includeinformation about its neighbors (e.g., an access point C). For example,the information regarding the access point C may comprise sufficientinformation (e.g., an identifier, an address, etc.) to enable anothernode to access the access point C. Here, it should be appreciated thatthe access point C may be a second-hop (or higher-hop) neighbor to theaccess point A (e.g., the access point A cannot hear the access pointC). In some implementations the access point B may automatically includeinformation about its neighbors in its report. Alternatively, the accesspoint A may specifically request that the access point B include thisinformation in the report.

The access point A may therefore use any information it receives from afirst-hop neighbor (e.g., access point B) regarding any multi-hopneighbors to communicate with the multi-hop neighbors. For example, asindicated in FIG. 5, the access point A sends a neighbor discoveryrequest to the access point C and receives a neighbor discovery reportin response. Likewise, the access point C sends a neighbor discoveryreport to the access point A and receives a neighbor discovery report inresponse. In a similar manner as discussed above, the neighbor discoveryreport from the access point C may include information about neighbors(not shown in FIG. 5) of access point C. In this way, the access point Amay obtain information about its third-hop neighbors.

In FIG. 6, an access point A learns information about its neighborsthrough access terminal-assisted neighbor discovery. Here, the accessterminal sends a pilot report to its serving access point (access pointA) that indicates all of the pilots that the access terminal isreceiving (e.g., pilot ID2 and other pilot IDs). In the event a pilot IDin the pilot report is new to the access point A, the access point A mayuse the access terminal to resolve the address (e.g., the IP address) ofthe new access point. For example, the access point A may send a sectorID request or other suitable request (e.g., including the pilot ID ofthe new access point) to the access terminal. The access terminal maythen send a sector response that includes the corresponding sector ID(or the access terminal sends some other suitable response) to theaccess point A.

The access point A may then perform a neighbor discovery exchange withthe new access point (e.g., access point B). As discussed above inconjunction with FIG. 5, the access point A may receive informationabout second-hop neighbors (e.g., access point C) from the access pointB and then conduct a neighbor discovery exchange with the second-hopneighbor(s).

Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, the teachings herein are applicable to theconfiguration of an access point in general. For example, the techniquesdescribed above as well as other techniques described herein may be usedto determine a variety of configuration parameters for an access point.Examples of such configuration parameters include, without limitation, afrequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilot identifier, a maximumtransmit power, and a transmit power profile.

As represented by block 702 of FIG. 7, the access point 802 (e.g., aneighbor discovery controller 846) may optionally determine the identityof its neighbors. For example, in a similar manner as discussed abovethe access point 802 may receive a list of its neighbors from aconfiguration server (e.g., network node 804). Here, an operator mayprovide one or more centralized configuration servers within its networkto assist in the configuration of access points in the network. Once theaccess point 802 has initialized, it may initiate the configurationprocess.

In some aspects, initialization of the access point 802 involves theaccess point 802 acquiring connectivity with the operator's network.Here, the access point 802 may need to be authenticated before isallowed to access an operator's network.

In addition, the access point 802 may locate a configuration server. Forexample, the access point 802 may be preconfigured with a well-knownaddress (e.g., IP address) of the configuration server. Alternatively,the access point 802 may be aware of the operator of the network towhich is connected (e.g., operator.com), such that the access point 802may make a DNS query for the FQDN “config_server.operator.com” andreceive an IP address in return. In other implementations the accesspoint 802 may use some other technique to obtain the appropriate addressinformation. The access point 802 may then establish communication withthe configuration server. For example, communication may be establishedusing standardized SNMP or other configuration protocols such asNetConf, OMA DM, CWMP (TR 069), or DOCSIS, or through the use of aproprietary CLI over SSH.

As discussed above, a configuration server may provide a neighbor listto an access point based on location information the configurationserver receives from the access point. These operations will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9 andthe nodes 802 and 804 of FIG. 8.

As represented by block 902 of FIG. 9, after initialization of theaccess point 802, the location determiner 844 may determine the locationof the access point 802. The location determiner 844 may determinelocation in various ways. For example, location may be determinedthrough the use of global positioning system (“GPS”) technology,assisted-GPS technology, a network-based location determining method, anRF-based method, or some other suitable method.

As represented by block 904, the access point 802 sends itslocation-related information (e.g., an estimate of its location) to thenetwork node 804. In some implementations this operation may beinitiated by the access point 802 (e.g., once the access point 802connects to the configuration server). In some implementations theconfiguration server may explicitly ask for this location information aspart of its connection setup protocol (e.g., via a request). The accesspoint 802 also may send other information (e.g., power profile, nodetype) to the network node 804 that the network node 804 may use toprovide an appropriate response.

As represented by block 906, once the network node 804 (e.g., neighbordeterminer 840) receives the location information from the access point802, the network node 804 identifies the neighbors of the access point802 and generates a neighbor list. This neighbor list may include, forexample, any macro access points that are relatively close to the accesspoint 802, as well as any other access points (e.g., femto nodes, etc.)in the geographical vicinity of the access point 802.

The neighbor list may be a function of the power classes (or powerprofiles) of the access point 802 and its neighbors. For example, adistant macro access point that transmits with high-power may be aneighbor of the access point 802. In contrast, a low-power access point(e.g., a femto node) that is relatively close to the access point 802may not be included in the neighbor list if the coverage areas of thelow-power access point and the access point 802 do not intersect.Consequently, in some cases the access point 802 may send power classinformation to the network node 802 along with the location information.In addition, the network node 804 may obtain power-related informationfrom other access points in the network. As represented by block 908,once the neighbor list has been generated, the network node 804 sendsthe neighbor list to the access point 802.

Referring again to FIG. 7, as represented by block 704, the access point802 (e.g., the configuration controller 832) determines theconfiguration of its neighbors. As discussed above, the access point 802may acquire the configuration information of its neighbors in variousways. For example, the access point 802 may connect directly with aneighbor via a backhaul and thereby read a select set of parameters. Theaccess point 802 may listen over-the-air to discover one or moreparameters of the neighboring access point (e.g., a pilot identifier asdiscussed above). The access point 802 may use access terminal-assistedneighbor discovery, whereby an access terminal associated with theaccess point 802 may send configuration information to the access point802. For example, the access terminal 818 (e.g., configurationcontroller 836) may inform the access point 802 of the neighbor accesspoints that the access terminal 818 has heard. Also, the access point802 may receive the configuration information of neighbor nodes from aconfiguration server such as the network node 804 (e.g., configurationcontroller 834) as discussed herein. It should be appreciated that theaccess point 102 may obtain configuration information through the use ofone or more of the techniques described herein or through the use ofother techniques.

As represented by block 706, the access point 802 (e.g., a configurationdeterminer 848) may specify a configuration for the access point 802based on the configuration information obtained at block 704. In someaspects, the access point 802 may autonomously choose its own set ofparameters (e.g., RF parameters) as a function of the parameters (e.g.,RF parameters) of its neighbors.

In some cases the access point 802 may select its power profile based onthe power profile or power profiles of its neighbors. For example, theaccess point 802 may select the same power profile that is used by itsneighbors. Alternatively, the access point 802 may select a powerprofile that is complementary to the power profile(s) used by itsneighbor(s). A power profile may define, for example, a maximum transmitpower, different transmit powers for different conditions, or otherpower parameters.

As discussed above, in some cases the access point 802 may select apilot identifier (e.g., a pilotPN) based on the pilot identifiers usedby its neighbors. For example, the access point 802 may select adifferent pilot identifier than its neighbors.

In some cases the access point 802 may select a carrier (e.g., an RFfrequency band) based on the carrier(s) used by its neighbors. Forexample, neighboring nodes in a network may select complementary sets ofcarrier priorities (e.g., as indicated by a carrier mask or some othersuitable indication) in order to implement an interference managementscheme. Here, each access point may radiate more energy on some carriersand less energy (e.g., or none at all) on other carriers. If neighboringaccess points choose these carrier priorities in a complementaryfashion, it may ensure that access terminals associated with each of theaccess points may have more favorable interference environments, atleast on some of the carriers. To accomplish this in an autonomousmanner, a new access point (e.g., an access point that has recently beeninitialized) may determine the carrier priorities used by its neighborsand choose its own carrier priorities to be as complementary to them aspossible.

In some aspects, the configuration of the access point 802 may bedependent on its location. For example, a configuration server (e.g.,the configuration controller 834) may specify a list (e.g., subset) ofparameters (e.g., an allowed parameter range) that may be used by theaccess point. As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 3, thespecified list may be based on the location of the access point 802. Forexample, a particular list of power profiles that may be used by theaccess point 802 may be specified based on the location of the accesspoint 802. Similarly, a particular list of frequency bands that may beused by the access point 802 may be specified based on the location ofthe access point 802. At a broad level, the city, state, or country inwhich the access point 802 currently resides may limit which frequencyband the access point 802 may use. For example, the same operator mayown different frequency bands in different countries or an operator maydesignate the use of different frequency bands in different cities.

In some implementations configuration information may include certainoptimization parameters (e.g., non-radio parameters). Such parametersmay include, for example, security keys that may be used to gain accessto one or more services (e.g., network connectivity). Such parametersalso may include the addresses of other nodes to which the access point802 may need to connect.

As represented by block 708 of FIG. 7, the access point 802 may then usethe configuration specified at block 706 for communication or otheroperations. For example, as discussed above transceiver 806 beconfigured with the determined RF parameters to determine which pilotidentifier to advertise, which carriers to operate on, and the transmitpower level to be used on these carriers.

As represented by block 710, the access point 802 may continue tomonitor the configurations of its neighbors to detect a conflict (e.g.,a collision). As mentioned above, in the event of a conflict, the accesspoint 802 may perform configuration operations as described above toresolve the conflict.

In some implementations, the access point 802 may receive an indicationof the conflict from an access terminal (e.g., access terminal 818). Forexample, if the access terminal 818 detects a conflict (e.g., conflictdetector 838 detects two access points using the same pilot identifier),the access terminal 818 may send a corresponding message to the accesspoint 802. Based on this message, the configuration controller 802 mayperform operations as discussed above to select a differentconfiguration for the access point 802.

It should be appreciated that the operations and components describedabove conjunction with FIGS. 7-9 may be applicable to the configurationschemes described herein with reference to other figures. For example,these operations and components may be used in conjunction withconfiguring a pilot identifier for an access point (e.g., as describedabove in conjunction with FIGS. 3-6).

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, in some implementations an accesspoint may obtain configuration information from another node (e.g., aconfiguration server), whereby the configuration information isdependent on the location of the access point. For convenience, theoperations of FIGS. 10 and 11 will be described in the context of theaccess point 802 and the network node 804 of FIG. 8.

As represented by blocks 1002 and 1004 of FIG. 10, the access point 802(e.g., location determiner 844) determines its location and providesthis information to the network node 804. This operation may thus besimilar to the location determining operations described above (e.g., atblocks 902 and 904).

As represented by block 1006, the network node 804 (e.g., configurationcontroller 834) determines configuration information for the accesspoint 802 based on the received location information. For example, asdiscussed above, configuration information may comprise RF parameters,optimization parameters, other parameters, or a combination of two ormore of these parameters. In some cases this operation may result in anentirely new configuration being defined for the access point 802.Alternatively, the network node 804 may only define a portion of theparameters used by the access point 802.

As represented by block 1008, the network node 804 sends theconfiguration information to the access point 802. The access point 802is then configured to use the received configuration information (block1010).

Referring now to FIG. 11, in some cases a configuration server may electto redirect an access point to a different configuration server. Such adetermination may be made, for example, based on the location of theaccess point and/or the load on a configuration server.

As represented by block 1102, the access point 802 sends a message tothe network node 804 to obtain configuration information. As discussedabove, such a message may include information indicative of the locationof the access point 802.

As represented by block 1104, the network node 804 (e.g., theconfiguration server selector 842) may determine whether to provide therequested configuration information. For example, the network node 804may determine, based on the location of the access point 802, thatanother configuration server (e.g., that is closer to the access point802) should handle the request. Also, the network node 804 may elect toredirect a request based on the load at the network node 804. Forexample, if the network node 804 is heavily loaded, the network node 804may redirect the request to another configuration server that is not asheavily loaded.

As represented by blocks 1106 and 1108, in the event the network node804 decides to handle the request, the network node 804 may provide therequested configuration information to the access point 802. Forexample, this operation may be similar to the operations described abovein conjunction with FIG. 10.

As represented by block 1110, if the network node 804 decides it willnot handle the request (e.g., based on its load or the proximity of theaccess point 802), the network node 804 (e.g., the configuration serverselector 842) identifies another configuration server that may provideconfiguration information for the access point 802. To this end, thenetwork node 804 may maintain a database that includes information aboutother configuration servers on the network. In addition oralternatively, the network node 804 may be configured, conductdiscovery, or communicate with another node to obtain this information.

As represented by block 1112, the network node 804 sends an indicationof the other configuration server to the access point 802 (e.g., in theform of a redirection message). In some implementations the indicationmay comprise information that will enable the access point 802 todetermine the address of the other configuration server. For example,the indication may comprise a location (e.g., a city) of theconfiguration server. Upon receipt of this information, the access point802 may determine the address of the other configuration server (e.g.,via DNS query).

In some implementations the indication may comprise the address of theother configuration server. In some implementations redirection may beachieved by the configuration server setting a parameter that indicatesthe address of the different configuration server. Upon determining thatthere is then a change in this parameter, the access point 802 willattempt to establish a connection with the new configuration server.

As represented by block 1114, the access point 802 may therefore send amessage to the other configuration server to obtain configurationinformation. Once the access point 802 completes its configurationexchange with a configuration server, the access point 802 may commenceuser communication operations.

As mentioned above, the teaching herein may be implemented in networkthat employs macro access points, femto nodes, relay nodes, and so on.FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate examples how access points may be deployed insuch a network. FIG. 12 illustrates, in a simplified manner, how thecells 1202 (e.g., macro cells 1202A-1202G) of a wireless communicationsystem 1200 may serviced by corresponding access points 1204 (e.g.,access points 1204A-1204G). Here, the macro cells 1202 may correspond tothe macro coverage areas 204 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 12, accessterminals 1206 (e.g., access terminals 1206A-1206L) may be dispersed atvarious locations throughout the system over time. Each access terminal1206 may communicate with one or more access points 1204 on a forwardlink (“FL”) and/or a reverse link (“RL) at a given moment, dependingupon whether the access terminal 1206 is active and whether it is insoft handover, for example. Through the use of this cellular scheme, thewireless communication system 1200 may provide service over a largegeographic region. For example, each of the macro cells 1202A-1202G maycover a few blocks in a neighborhood or several square miles in ruralenvironment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example how one or more femto nodes may bedeployed within a network environment (e.g., the system 1200). In thesystem 1300 of FIG. 13, multiple femto nodes 1310 (e.g., femto nodes1310A and 1310B) are installed in a relatively small area coveragenetwork environment (e.g., in one or more user residences 1330). Eachfemto node 1310 may be coupled to a wide area network 1340 (e.g., theInternet) and a mobile operator core network 1350 (e.g., comprisingnetwork nodes as discussed herein) via a DSL router, a cable modem, awireless link, or other connectivity means (not shown).

The owner of a femto node 1310 may subscribe to mobile service, such as,for example, 3G mobile service offered through the mobile operator corenetwork 1350. In addition, an access terminal 1320 may be capable ofoperating both in macro environments and in smaller area coverage (e.g.,residential) network environments. In other words, depending on thecurrent location of the access terminal 1320, the access terminal 1320may be served by a macro cell access point 1360 associated with themobile operator core network 1350 or by any one of a set of femto nodes1310 (e.g., the femto nodes 1310A and 1310B that reside within acorresponding user residence 1330). For example, when a subscriber isoutside his home, the subscriber may be served by a standard macroaccess point (e.g., access point 1360) and when the subscriber is nearor inside his home, the subscriber may be served by a femto node (e.g.,node 1310A). Here, a femto node 1310 may be backward compatible withlegacy access terminals 1320.

A femto node 1310 may be deployed on a single frequency or, in thealternative, on multiple frequencies. Depending on the particularconfiguration, the single frequency or one or more of the multiplefrequencies may overlap with one or more frequencies used by a macroaccess point (e.g., access point 1360).

In some aspects, an access terminal 1320 may be configured to connect toa preferred femto node (e.g., the home femto node of the access terminal1320) whenever such connectivity is possible. For example, whenever theaccess terminal 1320A is within the user's residence 1330, it may bedesired that the access terminal 1320A communicate only with the homefemto node 1310A or 1310B.

In some aspects, if the access terminal 1320 operates within the macrocellular network 1350 but is not residing on its most preferred network(e.g., as defined in a preferred roaming list), the access terminal 1320may continue to search for the most preferred network (e.g., thepreferred femto node 1310) using a Better System Reselection (“BSR”),which may involve a periodic scanning of available systems to determinewhether better systems are currently available, and subsequent effortsto associate with such preferred systems. With the acquisition entry,the access terminal 1320 may limit the search for specific band andchannel. For example, the search for the most preferred system may berepeated periodically. Upon discovery of a preferred femto node 1310,the access terminal 1320 selects the femto node 1310 for camping withinits coverage area.

A femto node may be restricted in some aspects. For example, a givenfemto node may only provide certain services to certain accessterminals. In deployments with so-called restricted (or closed)association, a given access terminal may only be served by the macrocell mobile network and a defined set of femto nodes (e.g., the femtonodes 1310 that reside within the corresponding user residence 1330). Insome implementations, a node may be restricted to not provide, for atleast one node, at least one of: signaling, data access, registration,paging, or service.

In some aspects, a restricted femto node (which may also be referred toas a Closed Subscriber Group Home NodeB) is one that provides service toa restricted provisioned set of access terminals. This set may betemporarily or permanently extended as necessary. In some aspects, aClosed Subscriber Group (“CSG”) may be defined as the set of accesspoints (e.g., femto nodes) that share a common access control list ofaccess terminals. A channel on which all femto nodes (or all restrictedfemto nodes) in a region operate may be referred to as a femto channel.

Various relationships may thus exist between a given femto node and agiven access terminal. For example, from the perspective of an accessterminal, an open femto node may refer to a femto node with norestricted association (e.g., the femto node allows access to any accessterminal). A restricted femto node may refer to a femto node that isrestricted in some manner (e.g., restricted for association and/orregistration). A home femto node may refer to a femto node on which theaccess terminal is authorized to access and operate on (e.g., permanentaccess is provided for a defined set of one or more access terminals). Aguest femto node may refer to a femto node on which an access terminalis temporarily authorized to access or operate on. An alien femto nodemay refer to a femto node on which the access terminal is not authorizedto access or operate on, except for perhaps emergency situations (e.g.,911 calls).

From a restricted femto node perspective, a home access terminal mayrefer to an access terminal that is authorized to access the restrictedfemto node (e.g., the access terminal has permanent access to the femtonode). A guest access terminal may refer to an access terminal withtemporary access to the restricted femto node (e.g., limited based ondeadline, time of use, bytes, connection count, or some other criterionor criteria). An alien access terminal may refer to an access terminalthat does not have permission to access the restricted femto node,except for perhaps emergency situations, for example, such as 911 calls(e.g., an access terminal that does not have the credentials orpermission to register with the restricted femto node).

For convenience, the disclosure herein describes various functionalityin the context of a femto node. It should be appreciated, however, thata pico node or relay node may provide the same or similar functionalityfor a different (e.g., larger) coverage area. For example, a pico nodeor a relay node may be restricted, a home pico node or home relay nodemay be defined for a given access terminal, and so on.

The teachings herein may be implemented in various types ofcommunication devices. In some aspects, the teachings herein may beimplemented in wireless devices that may be deployed in a multipleaccess communication system that may simultaneously supportcommunication for multiple wireless access terminals. Here, eachterminal may communicate with one or more access points viatransmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (alsoknown as the downlink) refers to the communication link from the accesspoints to the terminals, and the reverse link (also known as the uplink)refers to the communication link from the terminals to the accesspoints. This communication link may be established via asingle-in-single-out system, a multiple-in-multiple-out (“MIMO”) system,or some other type of system.

For illustration purposes, FIG. 14 describes sample communicationcomponents that may be employed in a wireless device in the context of aMIMO-based system 800. The system 1400 employs multiple (N_(T)) transmitantennas and multiple (N_(R)) receive antennas for data transmission. AMIMO channel formed by the N_(T) transmit and N_(R) receive antennas maybe decomposed into N_(S) independent channels, which are also referredto as spatial channels, where N_(S)≦min{N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the N_(S)independent channels corresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system mayprovide improved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/or greaterreliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multipletransmit and receive antennas are utilized.

The system 1400 may support time division duplex (“TDD”) and frequencydivision duplex (“FDD”). In a TDD system, the forward and reverse linktransmissions are on the same frequency region so that the reciprocityprinciple allows the estimation of the forward link channel from thereverse link channel. This enables the access point to extract transmitbeam-forming gain on the forward link when multiple antennas areavailable at the access point.

The system 1400 includes a wireless device 1410 (e.g., an access point)and a wireless device 1450 (e.g., an access terminal). At the device1410, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a datasource 1412 to a transmit (“TX”) data processor 1414.

In some aspects, each data stream is transmitted over a respectivetransmit antenna. The TX data processor 1414 formats, codes, andinterleaves the traffic data for each data stream based on a particularcoding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded data.

The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot datausing OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data patternthat is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiversystem to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and codeddata for each data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) basedon a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM)selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The datarate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined byinstructions performed by a processor 1430. A data memory 1432 may storeprogram code, data, and other information used by the processor 1430 orother components of the device 1410.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TXMIMO processor 1420, which may further process the modulation symbols(e.g., for OFDM). The TX MIMO processor 1420 then provides N_(T)modulation symbol streams to N_(T) transceivers (“XCVR”) 1422A through1422T. In some aspects, the TX MIMO processor 1420 applies beam-formingweights to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna from whichthe symbol is being transmitted.

Each transceiver 1422 receives and processes a respective symbol streamto provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g.,amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide amodulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. N_(T)modulated signals from transceivers 1422A through 1422T are thentransmitted from N_(T) antennas 1424A through 1424T, respectively.

At the device 1450, the transmitted modulated signals are received byN_(R) antennas 1452A through 1452R and the received signal from eachantenna 1452 is provided to a respective transceiver (“XCVR”) 1454Athrough 1454R. Each transceiver 1454 conditions (e.g., filters,amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitizes theconditioned signal to provide samples, and further processes the samplesto provide a corresponding “received” symbol stream.

A receive (“RX”) data processor 1460 then receives and processes theN_(R) received symbol streams from N_(R) transceivers 1454 based on aparticular receiver processing technique to provide N_(T) “detected”symbol streams. The RX data processor 1460 then demodulates,deinterleaves, and decodes each detected symbol stream to recover thetraffic data for the data stream. The processing by the RX dataprocessor 1460 is complementary to that performed by the TX MIMOprocessor 1420 and the TX data processor 1414 at the device 1410.

A processor 1470 periodically determines which pre-coding matrix to use(discussed below). The processor 1470 formulates a reverse link messagecomprising a matrix index portion and a rank value portion. A datamemory 1472 may store program code, data, and other information used bythe processor 1470 or other components of the device 1450.

The reverse link message may comprise various types of informationregarding the communication link and/or the received data stream. Thereverse link message is then processed by a TX data processor 1438,which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from adata source 1436, modulated by a modulator 1480, conditioned by thetransceivers 1454A through 1454R, and transmitted back to the device1410.

At the device 1410, the modulated signals from the device 1450 arereceived by the antennas 1424, conditioned by the transceivers 1422,demodulated by a demodulator (“DEMOD”) 1440, and processed by a RX dataprocessor 1442 to extract the reverse link message transmitted by thedevice 1450. The processor 1430 then determines which pre-coding matrixto use for determining the beam-forming weights then processes theextracted message.

FIG. 14 also illustrates that the communication components may includeone or more components that perform configuration (“CONFIG.”) controloperations as taught herein. For example, a configuration controlcomponent 1490 may cooperate with the processor 1430 and/or othercomponents of the device 1410 to send/receive signals to/from anotherdevice (e.g., device 1450) as taught herein. Similarly, a configurationcontrol component 1492 may cooperate with the processor 1470 and/orother components of the device 1450 to send/receive signals to/fromanother device (e.g., device 1410). It should be appreciated that foreach device 1410 and 1450 the functionality of two or more of thedescribed components may be provided by a single component. For example,a single processing component may provide the functionality of theconfiguration control component 1490 and the processor 1430 and a singleprocessing component may provide the functionality of the configurationcontrol component 1492 and the processor 1470.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into various types ofcommunication systems and/or system components. In some aspects, theteachings herein may be employed in a multiple-access system capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., by specifying one or more of bandwidth, transmitpower, coding, interleaving, and so on). For example, the teachingsherein may be applied to any one or combinations of the followingtechnologies: Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) systems,Multiple-Carrier CDMA (“MCCDMA”), Wideband CDMA (“W-CDMA”), High-SpeedPacket Access (“HSPA,” “HSPA+”) systems, Time Division Multiple Access(“TDMA”) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (“FDMA”) systems,Single-Carrier FDMA (“SC-FDMA”) systems, Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (“OFDMA”) systems, or other multiple access techniques.A wireless communication system employing the teachings herein may bedesigned to implement one or more standards, such as IS-95, cdma2000,IS-856, W-CDMA, TDSCDMA, and other standards. A CDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(“UTRA)”, cdma2000, or some other technology. UTRA includes W-CDMA andLow Chip Rate (“LCR”). The cdma2000 technology covers IS-2000, IS-95 andIS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology suchas Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”). An OFDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (“E-UTRA”), IEEE802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, andGSM are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (“UMTS”). Theteachings herein may be implemented in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution(“LTE”) system, an Ultra-Mobile Broadband (“UMB”) system, and othertypes of systems. LTE is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. Althoughcertain aspects of the disclosure may be described using 3GPPterminology, it is to be understood that the teachings herein may beapplied to 3GPP (Re199, Re15, Re16, Re17) technology, as well as 3GPP2(IxRTT, 1xEV-DO RelO, RevA, RevB) technology and other technologies.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into (e.g., implemented withinor performed by) a variety of apparatuses (e.g., nodes). In someaspects, a node (e.g., a wireless node) implemented in accordance withthe teachings herein may comprise an access point or an access terminal.

For example, an access terminal may comprise, be implemented as, orknown as user equipment, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, amobile station, a mobile, a mobile node, a remote station, a remoteterminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or some otherterminology. In some implementations an access terminal may comprise acellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol(“SIP”) phone, a wireless local loop (“WLL”) station, a personal digitalassistant (“PDA”), a handheld device having wireless connectioncapability, or some other suitable processing device connected to awireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may beincorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smart phone), acomputer (e.g., a laptop), a portable communication device, a portablecomputing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainmentdevice (e.g., a music device, a video device, or a satellite radio), aglobal positioning system device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

An access point may comprise, be implemented as, or known as a NodeB, aneNodeB, a radio network controller (“RNC”), a base station (“BS”), aradio base station (“RBS”), a base station controller (“BSC”), a basetransceiver station (“BTS”), a transceiver function (“TF”), a radiotransceiver, a radio router, a basic service set (“BSS”), an extendedservice set (“ESS”), or some other similar terminology.

In some aspects a node (e.g., an access point) may comprise an accessnode for a communication system. Such an access node may provide, forexample, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area networksuch as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wirelesscommunication link to the network. Accordingly, an access node mayenable another node (e.g., an access terminal) to access a network orsome other functionality. In addition, it should be appreciated that oneor both of the nodes may be portable or, in some cases, relativelynon-portable.

Also, it should be appreciated that a wireless node may be capable oftransmitting and/or receiving information in a non-wireless manner(e.g., via a wired connection). Thus, a receiver and a transmitter asdiscussed herein may include appropriate communication interfacecomponents (e.g., electrical or optical interface components) tocommunicate via a non-wireless medium.

A wireless node may communicate via one or more wireless communicationlinks that are based on or otherwise support any suitable wirelesscommunication technology. For example, in some aspects a wireless nodemay associate with a network. In some aspects the network may comprise alocal area network or a wide area network. A wireless device may supportor otherwise use one or more of a variety of wireless communicationtechnologies, protocols, or standards such as those discussed herein(e.g., CDMA, TDMA, OFDM, OFDMA, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and so on). Similarly, awireless node may support or otherwise use one or more of a variety ofcorresponding modulation or multiplexing schemes. A wireless node maythus include appropriate components (e.g., air interfaces) to establishand communicate via one or more wireless communication links using theabove or other wireless communication technologies. For example, awireless node may comprise a wireless transceiver with associatedtransmitter and receiver components that may include various components(e.g., signal generators and signal processors) that facilitatecommunication over a wireless medium.

The components described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways.Referring to FIGS. 15-22, apparatuses 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900,2000, 2100, and 2200 are represented as a series of interrelatedfunctional blocks. In some aspects the functionality of these blocks maybe implemented as a processing system including one or more processorcomponents. In some aspects the functionality of these blocks may beimplemented using, for example, at least a portion of one or moreintegrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC). As discussed herein, an integratedcircuit may include a processor, software, other related components, orsome combination thereof. The functionality of these blocks also may beimplemented in some other manner as taught herein. In some aspects oneor more of the dashed blocks in FIGS. 15-22 are optional.

The apparatuses 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, 2100, and 2200 mayinclude one or more modules that may perform one or more of thefunctions described above with regard to various figures. For example,an identifier determining means 1502 or a conflict identifying means1516 may correspond to, for example, an identifier determiner asdiscussed herein. An identifier selecting means 1504 may correspond to,for example, an identifier selector as discussed herein. A type sendingmeans 1506 or a location sending means 1510 may correspond to, forexample, a transmitter as discussed herein. A list receiving means 1508may correspond to, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. Aneighbor receiving, generating and sending means 1512 and an accesspoint identifying means 1514 may correspond to, for example, a neighbordiscovery controller as discussed herein. An identifier list determiningmeans 1602 may correspond to, for example, a configuration controller asdiscussed herein. A list sending means 1604 may correspond to, forexample, a transmitter as discussed herein. A receiving means 1606 maycorrespond to, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. A neighbordetermining and sending means 1608 may correspond to, for example, aneighbor determiner as discussed herein. An access point identifyingmeans 1702 may correspond to, for example, a neighbor discoverycontroller as discussed herein. A configuration determining means 1704may correspond to, for example, a configuration determiner as discussedherein. A configuration specifying means 1706 may correspond to, forexample, a configuration controller as discussed herein. A conflictidentifying means 1708 may correspond to, for example, a configurationdeterminer as discussed herein. A sending means 1710 may correspond to,for example, a transmitter as discussed herein. A receiving means 1712may correspond to, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. Areceiving means 1802 may correspond to, for example, a receiver asdiscussed herein. An access point determining means 1804 may correspondto, for example, a neighbor determiner as discussed herein. A sendingmeans 1806 may correspond to, for example, a transmitter as discussedherein. A configuration determining means 1808 may correspond to, forexample, a configuration controller as discussed herein. A locationinformation sending means 1902 may correspond to, for example, alocation determiner as discussed herein. A configuration informationreceiving means 1904 may correspond to, for example, a configurationcontroller as discussed herein. A server locating means 1906 maycorrespond to, for example, a communication controller as discussedherein. A location information receiving means 2002 may correspond to,for example, a receiver as discussed herein. A configuration informationdetermining means 2004 may correspond to, for example, a configurationcontroller as discussed herein. A configuration information sendingmeans 2006 may correspond to, for example, a transmitter as discussedherein. A message sending means 2102 may correspond to, for example, atransmitter as discussed herein. A configuration server indicationreceiving means 2104 may correspond to, for example, a receiver asdiscussed herein. An address determining means 2106 may correspond to,for example, a communication controller as discussed herein. A requestreceiving means 2202 may correspond to, for example, a receiver asdiscussed herein. A configuration server identifying means 2204 maycorrespond to, for example, a configuration server selector as discussedherein. An indication sending means 2206 may correspond to, for example,a transmitter as discussed herein.

It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generallylimit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a setof elements may comprise one or more elements. In addition, terminologyof the form “at least one of: A, B, or C” used in the description or theclaims means “A or B or C or any combination of these elements.”

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that any of the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digitalimplementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two,which may be designed using source coding or some other technique),various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions(which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a“software module”), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implementedwithin or performed by an integrated circuit (“IC”), an access terminal,or an access point. The IC may comprise a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, electrical components, optical components,mechanical components, or any combination thereof designed to performthe functions described herein, and may execute codes or instructionsthat reside within the IC, outside of the IC, or both. A general purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processormay be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in anydisclosed process is an example of a sample approach. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The functions described may be implemented in hardware, software,firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, thefunctions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or moreinstructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and communication mediaincluding any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer programfrom one place to another. A storage media may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. In summary, it should be appreciated that acomputer-readable medium may be implemented in any suitablecomputer-program product.

In view of the above, in some aspects a first method of communicationcomprises: sending, from an access point, information indicative of alocation of the access point; and receiving, at the access point,configuration information for the access point, wherein theconfiguration information is based on the information indicative of thelocation. In addition, in some aspects at least one of the followingalso may apply to the first method of communication: the configurationinformation comprises at least one RF parameter; the configurationinformation comprises at least one of the group consisting of: afrequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilot identifier, a maximumtransmit power, and a transmit power profile; the access point sends theinformation indicative of the location to a configuration server, andthe access point receives the configuration information from theconfiguration server; the method further comprises receiving a requestfrom the configuration server for the information indicative of thelocation, wherein the access point sends the information indicative ofthe location in response to the request; the method further compriseslocating the configuration server; the configuration informationcomprises at least one optimization parameter; wherein the informationindicative of the location indicates at least one of the groupconsisting of: a city within which the access point is located, acountry within which the access point is located, a macro access pointthat serves the access point, a zone with which the access point isassociated, a cell with which the access point is communicating, GPScoordinates, a geographic location, and a street address; the accesspoint comprises a femto node or a relay node.

In some aspects a second method of communication comprises: receivinginformation indicative of a location of an access point; determiningconfiguration information for the access point based on the informationindicative of the location; and sending the configuration information tothe access point. In addition, in some aspects at least one of thefollowing also may apply to the second method of communication: theconfiguration information comprises at least one RF parameter; theconfiguration information comprises at least one of the group consistingof: a frequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilot identifier, a maximumtransmit power, and a transmit power profile; the method furthercomprises sending a request for the information indicative of thelocation, wherein the information indicative of the location is receivedin response to the request; the configuration information comprises atleast one optimization parameter; the information indicative of thelocation indicates at least one of the group consisting of: a citywithin which the access point is located, a country within which theaccess point is located, a macro access point that serves the accesspoint, a zone with which the access point is associated, a cell withwhich the access point is communicating, GPS coordinates, a geographiclocation, and a street address; the method is performed by aconfiguration server.

In some aspects a third method of communication comprises: sending afirst message to a first configuration server to obtain configurationinformation for an access point; receiving an indication of a secondconfiguration server from the first configuration server in response tothe first message; and sending a second message to the secondconfiguration server to obtain the configuration information for theaccess point. In addition, in some aspects at least one of the followingalso may apply to the third method of communication: the indicationcomprises an address of the second configuration server; the methodfurther comprises determining, based on the indication, an address ofthe second configuration server; the first message comprises informationindicative of a location of the access point, and the indication of thesecond configuration server is received based on the informationindicative of the location; the information indicative of the locationindicates at least one of the group consisting of: a city within whichthe access point is located, a country within which the access point islocated, a macro access point that serves the access point, a zone withwhich the access point is associated, a cell with which the access pointis communicating, an operator network within which the access point isserving, GPS coordinates, a geographic location, and a street address;the configuration information comprises at least one RF parameter; theconfiguration information comprises at least one of the group consistingof: a frequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilot identifier, a maximumtransmit power, and a transmit power profile; the configurationinformation comprises at least one optimization parameter; the accesspoint comprises a femto node or a relay node.

In some aspects a fourth method of communication comprises: receiving,at a first configuration server, a request for configuration informationfor an access point; identifying a second configuration server that mayprovide the configuration information; and sending an indication of thesecond configuration server in response to the request. In addition, insome aspects at least one of the following also may apply to the fourthmethod of communication: the identification of the second configurationserver is based on loading at the first configuration server and/orloading at the second configuration server; the identification of thesecond configuration server is based on a location of the firstconfiguration server and/or a location of the second configurationserver; the request comprises information indicative of a location ofthe access point, and the identification of the second configurationserver is based on the information indicative of the location; theinformation indicative of the location indicates at least one of thegroup consisting of: a city within which the access point is located, acountry within which the access point is located, a macro access pointthat serves the access point, a zone with which the access point isassociated, a cell with which the access point is communicating, anoperator network within which the access point is serving, GPScoordinates, a geographic location, and a street address; the indicationcomprises an address of the second configuration server; theconfiguration information comprises at least one RF parameter; theconfiguration information comprises at least one of the group consistingof: a frequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilot identifier, a maximumtransmit power, and a transmit power profile; the configurationinformation comprises at least one optimization parameter.

In some aspects a fifth method of communication comprises: identifyingat least one neighbor access point of a first access point; determiningat least one configuration of the at least one neighbor access point;and specifying, at the first access point, at least one configurationfor the first access point based on the at least one configuration ofthe at least one neighbor access point. In addition, in some aspects atleast one of the following also may apply to the fifth method ofcommunication: the specification of the at least one configurationcomprises specifying at least one RF parameter; the specification of theat least one configuration comprises specifying at least one of thegroup consisting of: a frequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilotidentifier, a maximum transmit power, a transmit power profile; and aset of carrier priorities; the specification of the at least oneconfiguration comprises specifying a power profile that is identical toa power profile of the at least one neighbor access point; thespecification of the at least one configuration comprises specifying apilot identifier that is different than any pilot identifiers used bythe at least one neighbor access point; the specification of the atleast one configuration comprises specifying a set of carrier prioritiesthat is complementary to another set of carrier priorities used by theat least one neighbor access point; the method further comprises:identifying a conflict between the determined at least one configurationand a configuration previously specified for the first access point, andspecifying a non-conflicting configuration for the first access point inresponse to the identification of the conflict; the determination of theat least one configuration comprises at least one of the groupconsisting of: receiving configuration information over-the-air at thefirst access point, receiving configuration information at the firstaccess point from an associated access point, receiving configurationinformation at the first access point via a backhaul, and receivingconfiguration information at the first access point from a server; thedetermination of the at least one configuration comprises receivinginformation that indicates at least one configuration of at least onemulti-hop neighbor access point; the identification of the at least oneneighbor access point comprises: sending, by the first access point,information indicative of a location of the first access point and/or apower profile of the first access point, and receiving, at the firstaccess point, an indication of the at least one neighbor access point,wherein the indication is based on the sent information; the firstaccess point sends the information indicative of the location to aconfiguration server, and the first access point receives the indicationfrom the configuration server; the first access point sends theinformation indicative of the location to at least one other neighboraccess point, and the first access point receives the indication fromthe least one other neighbor access point; the information indicative ofthe location indicates at least one of the group consisting of: a citywithin which the first access point is located, a country within whichthe first access point is located, a macro access point that serves thefirst access point, a zone with which the first access point isassociated, a cell with which the first access point is communicating,an operator network within which the first access point is serving, GPScoordinates, a geographic location, and a street address; the firstaccess point comprises a femto node or a relay node.

In some aspects a sixth method of communication comprises: receivinginformation indicative of a location of a first access point;determining at least one neighbor access point of the first access pointbased on the information indicative of the location; and sending anindication of the at least one neighbor access point to the first accesspoint. In addition, in some aspects at least one of the following alsomay apply to the sixth method of communication: the method furthercomprises receiving information indicative of a power profile of thefirst access point, wherein the determination of the at least oneneighbor access point is further based on the information indicative ofthe power profile; the method further comprises receiving informationindicative of at least one power profile of at least one other accesspoint, wherein the determination of the at least one neighbor accesspoint is further based on the information indicative of the at least onepower profile; the method further comprises: determining at least oneconfiguration of the at least one neighbor access point, and sending anindication of the at least one configuration to the first access point;the at least one configuration comprises at least one RF parameter; theat least one configuration comprises at least one of the groupconsisting of: a frequency band, a carrier frequency, a pilotidentifier, a maximum transmit power, and a transmit power profile; theinformation indicative of the location indicates at least one of thegroup consisting of: a city within which the first access point islocated, a country within which the first access point is located, amacro access point that serves the first access point, a zone with whichthe first access point is associated, a cell with which the first accesspoint is communicating, GPS coordinates, a geographic location, and astreet address; the method is performed by a configuration server.

In some aspects, functionality corresponding to one or more of the aboveaspects relating to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixthmethods of communication may be implemented, for example, in anapparatus using structure as taught herein. In addition, acomputer-program product may comprise codes configured to cause acomputer to provide functionality corresponding to one or more of theabove aspects relating to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, andsixth methods of communication.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure.Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other aspects without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedto the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of communication, comprising:determining, at an access point, at least one identifier transmitted byat least one other access point; and selecting an identifier to betransmitted by the access point based on the at least one identifier.